Graf Zeppelin was an aircraft carrier built and launched in Germany just prior to World War II, and remains the only such vessel ever constructed by that country. Launched in 1938, Graf Zeppelin was partially fitted-out before work was abandoned due to the reversals of the war, lack of funding, and in-fighting between high-ranking Nazi Party and military officials. Never commissioned and placed in service, she was sunk as a target in the Baltic Sea by the Soviet Union in 1947.